TAMILiNK

COLOMBO, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s office has interfered with a commission probing civil war rights abuses and murders that include some blamed on state security forces, international observers said on Wednesday.

The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) says the presidential probe into abuses, including a massacre of 17 aid workers last year that Nordic truce monitors have blamed on security forces, lacks transparency and fails to meet international standards. There was no immediate comment from the president’s office.

The panel said the president’s office wrote to the commission last month clarifying that it was not necessary to probe the conduct of the Attorney General or his department regarding investigations relevant to the probe. [more…]

COLOMBO: A public opinion survey by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a Colombo-based think-tank, has brought to the fore the deep divisions among the majority and minority communities of Sri Lanka on the ongoing undeclared war in the island nation.

The 27th in the series of such surveys conducted since 2001 shows that 48.5 per cent of the Sinhala community feel that the war can be ended and peace restored in the country only by the government defeating the LTTE.

However, in the other three communities (Tamils – 62.3 per cent, Upcountry Tamils – 96.7 per cent, Muslims – 85.2 per cent) the option chosen was to stop the war and conduct peace negotiations. [more…]

(ReliefWeb) KANTALAI, Sri Lanka, Aug 10, 2006 (AFP) – Doctor Iranthi de Silva has worked for 15 hours straight, battling fatigue and stress as casualties in Sri Lanka’s strife-torn northeast mounted Thursday.

A brief lull in the chaotic, makeshift emergency room at the Kantalai Base Hospital allowed her to sit down.

But the distant wailing of an arriving ambulance carrying soldiers wounded in fresh battles with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signalled she would continue working the rest of the day.

“This country has been stressed out the past 20 years,” she said, referring to the Tiger insurgency that has claimed some 60,000 lives.

“I am stressed out,” she added. “I have not slept in a long time, I want to rest, but if more casualties come in today, no way.”

In the past few hours, she has tended to at least three soldiers wounded in fighting near disputed sluice gates at Maalivaru.

The government says it launched a “defensive operation” in the area to prevent Tiger guerrillas from occupying it.

At least 45 soldiers were wounded and three killed in the fresh fighting, adding to an official death toll of more than 440 in the past two weeks.

The small Kantalai Base Hospital is almost spartan and was used mainly to treat patients with minor injuries in the past.

But the outpatient reception area has been converted into a makeshift emergency ward, with hospital staff scrambling over one another in cramped conditions.

“We lack so many things here. We don’t have a fully functioning emergency treatment facility, no ICU (intensive care unit),” said hospital worker Minushi Kannangara as she hovered over a gunshot victim on the verge of unconsciousness and grimacing in pain.

“What we do is to try and stop them from dying here and give them a better chance before they are transferred to a bigger general hospital,” she said.

“What we can manage, we try to do here under extremely difficult circumstances,” Kannangara added.

“If war continues and there are more casualties, then we can’t file for a leave of absence,” she said, adding that medical personnel travelling in ambulances have also been targeted in the conflict.

“It’s safer if we stay here. And we can help,” she said.

Medical supervisor D.G.M. Costa said there are about 30 doctors working at the emergency unit at any one time.

He added that more volunteers were needed because the health situation in overflowing refugee camps was beginning to deteriorate.

“We are trying to build a field hospital outside of here to accommodate as many as we can. If this conflict continues, we certainly need more doctors,” he said, after barking orders to stressed nurses and aides.

At the moment, he said, there were enough medicines and supplies, but other doctors said the local blood bank could run dry if the stream of casualties continued over the next few weeks.

“At the rate this fighting is going, we expect much more to be brought here. We need all the help we can get,” the medical supervisor added.

At the emergency ward, Kannangara tries to calm a patient as she checks his vital signs. Blood oozed from a badly bandaged wound on his legs.

“You are going to be okay,” she said, her hands steady around a tourniquet.

But dark circles under her eyes and a quiver in her voice betrayed her exhaustion.

(ABC Online) Sri Lanka’s military has admitted that a four-year-old cease-fire with Tamil Tiger rebels has collapsed in the country’s north-east.

A pro-Tamil website is claiming at least 45 civilians have died in fighting around the coastal Trincomalee district.

The military says it has lost three soldiers during a day of air and artillery battles.

The fight is for control of a disputed irrigation channel which feeds water to about 15,000 inland rice farmers.

But the theatre of conflict has widened to include disputed control over several towns.

Up to 60,000 civilians have fled to makeshift refugee camps and concerns for their health and welfare is growing.

The United Nations meanwhile has strongly condemned the apparent execution-style murders of 17 civilian aid workers caught up in the conflict.

An Australian forensic expert is helping oversee the post mortem investigation.

(Reuters) KANTALE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Three troops died and dozens were injured as Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers fought against what they said was a major military offensive on Thursday.

Medics treated more than 30 new army casualties taken to the government-held town of Kantale in the island’s restive east, and were told to expect more. The local hospital struggled to cope, as injured shared beds and lay on trolleys.

The town is already struggling to cope with around 30,000 people displaced by days of fighting.

“There is a big offensive going on two fronts,” S. Puleedevan, head of the Tigers’ peace secretariat, told Reuters by phone. “Heavy fighting is going on, artillery, mortar fire and Kfir jets are bombarding.”

“The ceasefire really is in danger,” he added, saying hundreds of civilians were fleeing the area.

The military confirmed fighting but gave no details.

The fresh violence comes after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Tuesday lifted a blockade on water supplies to thousands of farmers in government territory in the east.

The government says it will not halt its operation until it controls a disputed sluice and a reservoir that feeds it. The Tigers say the land is theirs, and say ongoing army attacks amount to a declaration of war.

“It will continue until we can get our irrigation engineers to the area,” said Defense Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.

THOUSANDS DISPLACED

Civilians displaced and caught in the crossfire are paying a heavy price.

Doctors treating dozens of cases of skin infections and diarrhea in makeshift camps in Kantale turned to focus on new army casualties.

“Today we will have to cut back in the camps because in the camps there is no urgent need. They are not bleeding,” said Kantale Hospital administrator D.G.M. Costa as medics worked on throat and torso injuries.

“If things continue like this, then we will need more doctors.”

His team was treating more than 30 injured troops, many with blast injuries to their legs, who arrived in trucks and ambulances wearing bandages and crude wooden splints.

Aid workers say the human cost has already been high, although it will become much worse if the two-decade civil war that has already killed more than 65,000 people escalates to cover more of the north and east, where the Tigers want a separate homeland for minority Tamils.

Tens of thousands fled the battered eastern town of Mutur, heavily damaged by days of shelling and fighting. Aid agencies had planned to take two-busloads of residents back to the town on Thursday, but had to cancel the trip.

“We are just ordinary people,” 55-year-old fisherman M.A. Mohamed, one of many who has fled the conflict area and is now living under a bullock cart with four other families in Kantale. “We just want to get on with our lives.”

(Gulf Times) NEW YORK: Former US president Bill Clinton, who is a UN special envoy on tsunami recovery efforts in the Indian Ocean, expressed shock at the killing of 16 aid workers in Sri Lanka.

“I was shocked and saddened to hear of the killings in Sri Lanka” of the workers “who I understand were providing assistance to tsunami survivors in the eastern part of the country,” Clinton said.

The slain workers were staff in the Sri Lankan city of Muttur for the French aid group Action Against Hunger (Action Contre le Faim).

“I hope that this wanton act will not deter the critical efforts of aid workers in Sri Lanka, who have operated with courage and determination under difficult circumstances,” added Clinton in a statement released by the UN’s office of the special envoy for tsunami recovery, set up after the December 2004 disaster in the region.

“I offer my condolences to the victims and strongly urge the authorities to do everything possible to apprehend the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice,” said Clinton.

The Paris-based group, founded in 1979 by author Marek Halter and physicist Alfred Kastler, halted all activities in Sri Lanka and demanded an investigation into the murders.

The victims, all wearing ACF shirts, were clearly identified as aid workers, according to president Denis Metzger. ACF has been in Sri Lanka since 1996 and has 15 international employees and 224 national employees there. – Agencies

(ReliefWeb) TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 9 (Reuters) – The brutal murder of 17 Sri Lankan aid workers last week highlights the difficulties faced by relief organisations around the world trying to balance helping people with politics.

The massacre, which took place in the northeastern town of Mutur after days of fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, was one of the bloodiest attacks on an aid group in history.

“This will change how we operate, who we help and how we do it,” said one aid worker in Trincomalee, aid hub both for the conflict area and also for a swathe of the island’s east coast hit by the 2004 tsunami.

In the last few days, aid crews have found access to the area limited by angry mobs, mainly from the island’s ethnic Sinhalese majority, who say non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are biased in favour of minority Tamils and the rebels.

“Ever since this government got into power, it has whipped up anti-NGO feeling,” said Rohan Edrisinha, analyst at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in the capital, Colombo. “I think that has percolated down to the army, bureaucrats and officials.”

It is not only in Sri Lanka that aid workers are under fire. In Sudan’s Darfur region, aid agencies say July was the worst month on record with eight Sudanese staff killed and access restricted by violence and intimidation.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, aid staff say western agencies are often seen as simply an extension of the United States military and its allies.

In Zimbabwe, aid agencies continually have to lobby the government simply to remain—and so barely dare talk about their conditions, food shortages or abuse.

Some have ceased work all together.

POLITICISED AID

“When aid gets politicised, you have to negotiate simply to have the space in which to operate,” said one Trincomalee-based aid worker who also worked in Africa. “That makes things much more difficult. It can also make it more dangerous.”

With governments increasingly moving into the aid sphere, and relief programmes more involved in trying to engineer long-term social change that can involve contact with rebel groups rather than simply handing out food, it seems a growing trend.

In Sri Lanka, some attribute the rising anti-NGO sentiment to political pressure from hardline Buddhist and Marxist government allies.

With rebuilding after the 2004 tsunami slower than many hoped, aid workers and officials also blame each other.

“Here, problems seem to have been exacerbated by the fact that some foreign governments want to work through the NGOs rather than the government,” said Edrisinha.

The government says it will launch a proper investigation into the killing of the 17 staffers from the aid group Action Contre La Faim, but family members and increasing numbers of aid workers say it already appears likely that government troops were responsible.

All but one of the victims were Tamils, trapped in a majority Muslim town.

With a large number of victims of both the tsunami and the two-decade civil war being Tamils, aid workers say with hindsight that they probably did not do enough to win over hearts and minds of Sinhalese and Muslim residents—although with thousands of Muslims now displaced by the current crisis, they are trying hard.

“They see our white vehicles go through their village almost every day and they see us give them nothing,” said one aid worker.

(FreeMedia) Deputy Inspector of Police Trincomalee district threaten to baton charge and barred the media personal waiting at Trincomalee hospital to cover the postmortem inquiry of the 15 NGO workers killed in Muttur.

17 humanitarian workers of the French NGO, Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger, ACF was shot to death in the aftermath of fighting between government forces and LTTE, in Muttur.

Media personal had obtain permission form the hospital authorities but DIG Trincomalee said that it is his authority not the hospital authorities to permit or not to permit media to cover the incident.

Save the Children today warns of a humanitarian crisis as fighting continues in eastern Sri Lanka. Save the Children continue to scale up their relief effort as violence in the area surrounding Muttur, near Trincomalee, escalated Sunday evening and Monday morning after a brief lull.

It is estimated that over 20,000 people have moved to Kantale in the Trincomalee district after leaving their homes due to the fighting in Muttur. Over the last two days Save the Children have supplied non food items including sleeping mats, sheets, towels and hygiene kits, kitchen utensils and some children’s clothes to over 1,200 families. Save the Children’s Child Protection Advisor is in the district helping children who have been separated from their families during the exodus.

Richard Mawer, Save the Children Programme Director in Sri Lanka says “Fighting has become more severe and moved into heavily populated areas over the last few days, causing families and children to flee their homes to escape rockets and artillery fire. This is a humanitarian crisis and we are concerned for the children who have been caught up in the fighting.”

He also noted with grave concern the killing of 15 national staff of the international humanitarian organization Action Contra la Faim in Muttur. “These killings send a clear message that humanitarian space and ability to work is under threat, and this is especially worrying given the escalation in violence and the potential for ever greater violence given this breakdown.”

(Yahoo News) Explosions sounded out in Sri Lanka’s east on Tuesday as fighting between the military and Tamil Tigers over a water supply entered a 14th day, while aid workers planned for the burials of 17 slain local staff.

Reuters witnesses in the eastern port of Trincomalee could hear explosions toward the disputed area to the south after dawn, after a Norwegian peace envoy convinced the rebels to reopen a blocked sluice gate and halt fighting only to find the army stepped up attacks.

“Several rounds of artillery were fired during the night. Still we are consolidating the area, waiting and hoping we will be able to allow the water to flow,” said a military spokesman.

“We are still clearing landmines and booby traps are there,” he added.

Nordic truce monitors and diplomats are exasperated by the government’s decision to continue a military campaign despite the Tiger offer to open the sluice. The rebels have already pulled back to their original positions after the first ground battle since a 2002 truce.

The government says the only option is for the Tigers to vacate the area, and analysts suspect President Mahinda Rajapakse is pushing on as either a concession to hardline Marxist and Buddhist monk political allies who hate the Tigers or as a matter of government pride.

“This is so incredibly stupid,” said one western diplomat. “There are no winners in this situation.”

More than 800 people had been killed so far this year even before the recent fighting in which the military say they killed over 150 rebels and in which dozens of civilians are said to be dead.

SHOT IN THE HEAD

Aid workers transported the bodies of 17 local colleagues found slain in the eastern battle-ravaged town of Mutur, where they had been working on post-tsunami projects, to the port town of Trincomalee overnight.

Most had been shot in the head, execution style, fellow aid workers said.

International aid agency Action Contre La Faim (ACF), or Action Against Hunger, said it was waiting for post-mortem results and had halted all activities in the area. It also said it might ask for help from the United Nations or Red Cross to uncover what had happened.

“It would seem that it was rocket explosions or bullets to the head. We don’t know. There are several versions. Perhaps some were killed by bullets and others by bombs. We will have more information in the coming hours,” ACF executive director Benoit Miribel told Reuters Television in Paris.

Officials said 15 of the staff were found dead on the floor of their office, while two others had been gunned down while apparently trying to escape in a car. It was not clear when their funerals would be held.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy condemned what he called “the appalling and cowardly murders.”

Pro-rebel website Tamilnet blamed the government for the killings, while the army pointed the finger at the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have fought for an ethnic Tamil homeland for two decades in a civil war that has killed more than 65,000 people.

Colombo / Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) strongly condemns the killing of 15 national employees of the French humanitarian organization Action Contre la Faim (ACF) in the town of Muttur, Trincomalee district, Sri Lanka. The ICRC is deeply concerned about the serious deterioration of the security situation, which has severely hampered the efforts of aid workers to provide assistance for the country’s most vulnerable people. “We are appalled at what happened to the ACF staff,” said Yvonne Dunton, head of the ICRC’s sub-delegation in Trincomalee. “This was a deliberate attack on a humanitarian organization that was doing valuable work for the people of Muttur.”

The ICRC calls on all the parties to the conflict to respect the work of humanitarian agencies and to refrain from any acts that might jeopardize their staff or their activities. It also urges the relevant authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure that aid workers assisting the civilian population and persons no longer taking part in the hostilities are spared from attack and can move about freely and safely.

Today, the ICRC provided displaced families in the town of Kantale with assistance consisting of 335 tarpaulins, 335 hygiene kits (soap, washing powder, razors, bath towels and shampoo) and 112 baby parcels (blankets, towels and baby powder). It is also installing sanitary facilities an two water-distribution systems in the camps where the families are sheltering. More relief activities for the displaced population are planned for the coming days.

(Yahoo News) Tired and hungry aid workers labor ceaselessly in crowded refugee camps on the edge of Sri Lanka’s conflict zone amid the thundering sound of artillery.

Their steely resolve gives hope to nearly 30,000 people displaced by heavy fighting between Tiger rebels and government forces, but news that 15 of their colleagues were killed has outraged them to a point that they are now demanding protection.

“This is plainly a crime, not only to us but to those we serve,” said Guy Hovey, head of delegation for the US-based United Methodist Committee on Relief which has been working to evacuate people since the fresh conflict began.

The killings of 15 employees of French agency Action Against Hunger (ACF) is an atrocity that could complicate efforts to bring aid to some 5,000 people trapped in the town of Muttur.

More than 425 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting according to an official count.

“We’re non-combatants and we can’t operate if we are attacked. We would like some form of security guarantee or safe passage,” from both sides, Hovey told AFP as his staff tended to scores of children and women under a makeshift tent in Kallar, 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) south of Muttur.

“We have a humanitarian duty to remain and help the people. We will remain until we are effective,” he said, but stressed that if there was another security breakdown “we may pull out.”

Hovey’s group of 20 volunteers are trying to work on bringing food and aid to some 5,000 people believed still remaining in Muttur, which came under attack from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) trying to cut off a military supply routes.

The fighting erupted on July 26 when war planes bombed suspected Tiger positions in a bid to force the rebels to lift their blockade of an irrigation canal that was denying water to some 15,000 farming families downstream

Heavy shelling that followed a week later devastated the mainly Muslim town and forced thousands to flee. The area is now cut off, telephone services and power are down even as reports say bodies still lie uncollected days after it was bombarded.

Aid workers who managed to enter Muttur have reported finding the bodies of the 15 ACF staffers. It was not clear how they were killed, and the deaths were the first in the agency’s 25-year history.

“Aid and relief workers should not be harmed or killed. We are a neutral force. We are bringing help to these people,” said Ahmad Raslan from the Islamic Red Crescent medical agency.

“We have tried time and again going to Muttur by road, we heard there are still people there. We just couldn’t get to them,” he said. “There are still dead bodies there and some people left behind needing help.

“We are not afraid to help, but we also demand that there is some form of guarantee we will not be harmed. We are trying to do our humanitarian work, we can’t do that if we come under attack,” he stressed.

Muslim relief agencies, he said however, will remain on the ground for the long-haul. “God willing, we may be able to reach Muttur by road soon. We will keep trying,” he said.

“We condemn the attack on civilians, including the volunteers,” he said, referring to the ACF casualties.

Lars Stuewe, a medical officer of the German Emergency Medical Technician aid group working with Islamic organizations here, noted that apart from the deaths in Muttur some ambulances have also come under attack from civilians.

“There were NGO vehicles attacked yesterday and the other day. We know of one worker who was also beaten and this is the situation we have to live with,” he said, adding that it was not clear who were behind the attacks.

“We will not go to Muttur unless we deem it safe.”

(ICRC) An ICRC convoy composed of six trucks, two ambulances and three cars yesterday reached the Mutur area and was able to evacuate around four hundred displaced people from the conflict zone to Trincomalee town. In addition to that, two injured people were transported to Eachilampattai hospital.

As for the fifteen thousand displaced people currently accommodated in Kantale, the ICRC is assessing their humanitarian needs with a focus on water and hygienic problems. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) is assisting with food supplies.

In Trincomalee town, the ICRC has also delivered 163 kits of essential household items, containing tarpaulins, mats, pots, buckets, mosquito nets, kerosene cookers and lanterns. Around 300 displaced families benefited.

The ICRC reminds both parties to the conflict of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. It urgently calls upon both parties to ensure the protection of the civilian population as well as to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“We are facing a serious humanitarian emergency,” said Toon Vandenhove, the ICRC’s head of delegation presently in Kantale to meet the local authorities, “We therefore need the collaboration and assistance of all parties”.

(Yahoo News) A French aid agency was trying to find out who shot dead 15 of its employees as a Nordic truce monitor hit out at the Sri Lankan government for shelling Tamil rebels as they tried to reopen a bitterly-contested waterway.

The bodies of 11 men and four women, wearing Action Against Hunger (ACF) T-shirts, were found face-down in their office on Sunday in the town of Muttur, close to heavy fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces.

The rebels have accused the security forces of killing the aid workers, who were all members of Sri Lanka’s minority ethnic Tamil community.

Benoit Miribel, the director general of Action Against Hunger (ACF), said his organisation was stunned by the killings which were unprecedented in its 25-year history.

“We are trying to send a team to find out what is going on in this area,” Miribel told AFP in Paris. “But soldiers have prevented us from entering the town which remains completely sealed off.”

ACF is one of the hundreds of aid agencies that set up operations in Sri Lanka after an Indian Ocean tsunami wiped out much the island’s coastal infrastructure and killed an estimated 31,000 people in December 2004.

There was no immediate word from the government about what happened to the aid workers.

Fighting intensified last Wednesday after sluice gates at a dam were closed to get the government to improve drinking water for residents in the town and the surrounding northeastern district of Trincomalee.

The government accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of blocking the waterway. The rebels say residents shut the sluice gates.

The rebels were close to reopening them on Sunday but were forced back by government shelling, which brought a stern rebuke from Ulf Henriksson, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) which is trying to negotiate a ceasefire.

Henriksson said the Maavilaru dam was just minutes away from being re-opened, returning water supplies to thousands of families, when the bombardment started.

“No water. War instead of water. Not a good idea, not a good solution,” Henriksson told the BBC in comments reported Monday.

“... we could have waited some minutes more for the water so I think (the attack) was a bad idea,” he said.

At least 425 people have died in clashes over the Maavilaru dam since July 26.

A spokesman for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the monitors had a “narrow shave” in the shelling.

“We had informed the Sri Lankan government and clearance was obtained,” S. Puleedevan told AFP. “But, as they approached the area, there was heavy shelling and they can’t open the sluice gates. Even the monitors had a narrow shave.”

The government said it was not involved in talks between peace-broker Norway and the rebels on re-opening the dam.

“Water should not be a negotiating tool,” Colombo spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told AFP. “We don’t want terrorists to come and open the waterway. They must simply allow irrigation engineers to do it, otherwise we will open it anyway.”

It has been the worst fighting in Sri Lanka since a truce was agreed in 2002. An estimated 60,000 people have been killed since the Tamil insurgency began around three decades ago.

(Yahoo News) Sri Lanka’s chief truce monitor has criticised government troops for shelling Tamil rebels as they tried to reopen a bitterly contested waterway at the centre of the heaviest clashes in years.

Ulf Henriksson, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), said the Maavilaru dam was just minutes away from being re-opened, returning water supplies to thousands of families, when the bombardment started.

“No water. War instead of water. Not a good idea, not a good solution,” Henriksson told the BBC in comments reported Monday.

“... we could have waited some minutes more for the water so I think (the attack) was a bad idea,” he said.

At least 425 people have died in clashes over the Maavilaru dam in the northeastern district of Trincomalee since July 26 after the government accused rebels of blocking the waterway, cutting off supplies to thousands of families.

The guerrillas said residents closed the waterway, which lies in rebel-held territory, to get the government to improve their drinking water supply.

A spokesman for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the monitors had a “narrow shave” in the shelling.

“We had informed the Sri Lankan government and clearance was obtained,” S. Puleedevan told AFP. “But, as they approached the area, there was heavy shelling and they can’t open the sluice gates. Even the monitors had a narrow shave.”

The government said it was not involved in talks between peace-broker Norway and the rebels on re-opening the dam.

“Water should not be a negotiating tool,” Colombo spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told AFP. “We don’t want terrorists to come and open the waterway. They must simply allow irrigation engineers to do it, otherwise we will open it anyway.”

It has been the worst fighting in Sri Lanka since a truce was agreed in 2002. An estimated 60,000 people have been killed since the Tamil insurgency began around three decades ago.

(ZeeNews) Colombo, Aug 07: A French aid agency said it was trying to find out who shot dead 15 of its employees in northern Sri Lanka but that government troops had sealed off the scene of the massacre.

The bodies of 11 men and four women all wearing Action Against Hunger (ACF) T-shirts were found face-down in their office on Sunday in the town of Muttur, close to heavy fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebels have accused the security forces of killing the aid workers, who were all members of Sri Lanka’s minority ethnic Tamil community.

Benoit Miribel, the director general of Action Against Hunger (ACF), said his organisation was stunned by the killings which were unprecedented in the organisation’s 25-year history.

“We are trying to send a team to find out what is going on in this area,” Miribel told reporters in Paris. “But soldiers have prevented us from entering the town which remains completely sealed off.”

He said the organisation urgently wanted “to go to our offices there to retrieve the bodies and carry out an investigation to find out who was responsible.”

Miribel said ACF, which has nearly 250 staff in Sri Lanka working on tsunami relief programs, had no plans to leave the troubled northeast.

Heavy fighting broke out in Muttur and the surrounding northeastern district of Trincomalee last month after the government accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of blocking a key waterway.

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

This year is the 23rd anniversary of the Black July of 1983. In a book published in June 2002, Sirisena Cooray, very much an insider to the regime in power in 1983 gives the story of the manner in which the racial riots in Colombo broke out and the responsibility of president Jayawardene for not preventing them. The death of 13 soldiers in the North had provoked a natural reaction from the military and some sections of the armed forces wanted to bring the bodies to Colombo. The purpose was clearly to express the military’s frustration. The president was made aware of this plan. According to Sirisena Cooray there were protests from the Prime Minister who saw that this would lead to serious trouble. However, Jayawardene, known to be a Machiavellian politician, knew that if he stopped this move there would be a conflict with the military and ultimately there might be some challenge to him personally. Instead of letting that happen he allowed a situation to occur that was bound to provoke a terrible riot. By now his regime was already illegitimate politically since the members the parliament held their power only due to a referendum for an extension of their term of office for a further six years.

The essential aspects of Jayawardene’s policy throughout his regime were to divert challenges to his regime by the creation of other forms of social unrest through which the focus on the protests against the regime was lost. And this was what Jayawardene did on this occasion.

To view the ethnic conflict purely on racial terms is to ignore the politics of this conflict which go far beyond racial parameters. The power crises in the regimes that have been in power have much more to do with the present ‘ethnic crisis’ than ethnicity. This is an issue that the AHRC has highlighted regularly in its statements. This insider story helps to look into this same issue once again during the month that marks a historically black period which took a decisive turn for the worst in 1983.

An excerpt from President Premadasa and I – our Story (pp 60-63)

ERRORS AND MISTAKES

The day we heard about the killing of the 13 soldiers in Jaffna I went to see Mr. Premadasa. He was on the phone to the President. There was a lot of tension in the country and we were extremely worried about the way things were moving. Mr. Premadasa turned to me and informed me that the President is planning to bring the bodies of the dead soldiers to Colombo, to be cremated at Kanatte. Mr. Premadasa had been trying to get the President to change his mind when I walked in. When he saw me Mr. Premadasa said: “Sir, Sirisena is here; you ask him”. And he put me on. The President told me: “Cooray, these people want to bring these bodies to Colombo and cremate them at Kanatte. What do you think?” I said: “Sir why do you want to bring these bodies to Colombo? These are not people from Colombo. If you bring the bodies here there will be problems”. This was precisely what Mr. Premadasa had been telling the President before I walked in. Afterwards Mr. Premadasa told me that they bad decided against bringing the bodies to Colombo; I remember we were both extremely relieved.

That afternoon I went for a wedding at the Shalika Hall in Narahenpita. Mrs. Jayawardene was also there. I was talking to her when she suddenly said: “Mr. Cooray, you know that they are bringing those 13 bodies to Colombo today”. I was thunderstruck. I said: “Madam, the President promised the Prime Minister only a little while ago that the bodies will not be brought to Colombo”. She responded: “No, no they are going to go ahead and bring the bodies here. I do not know whose idea it is”. I had the impression she too was unhappy about it.

This was madness. Like Mr. Premadasa I knew that all hell was likely to break lose when those bodies are brought to Colombo. I just got up and walked to my car. But I had no clear idea about where I wanted to go. I couldn’t think clearly. I didn’t want to go home and I didn’t want to go to the CMC. Finally I went to the Sugathadasa stadium. That was the time we were reconstructing the Stadium. I walked into the middle of the grounds and just stood there. That was when SP Ariyaratne came to me and told me that there was a radio message from the PM asking me to contact him urgently. When I called Mr. Premadasa he too was extremely upset and worried. He told me about the new decision to bring the bodies to Colombo that evening and asked me to make the necessary arrangements. He told me that the President is planning to attend the cremations and he too was expected to be there. He knew full well there would be problems but he had no choice in the matter. The decisions were made elsewhere and he was just informed of them. If the President listened to Mr. Premadasa, the ‘83 July riots could have been avoided and the history of this country would have been different.

Like Mr. Premadasa I too had no choice but to do what bad to be done, given the situation. The Kanatte is owned and managed by the CMC and as Mayor my tasks were clear. So I went to the Municipal Workshop and made all the arrangements. I also phoned the Municipal Commissioners and told them to come to the cemetery. After that I went to the cemetery. As soon as I entered I could feel the tension. There was an organized crowd present, making a huge show of grief, weeping hysterically. I walked up to DIG Edward Gunawardane and I asked him why they allowed this madness. He and the other senior police officers present told me that they had nothing to do with the decision, that they were just following orders. I warned them that this drama would end with a riot. Though the bodies were not brought yet, the crowd was organised and ready. I realized that if I stayed here I too would be thrashed. Gamani Jayasuriya was also there waiting for the bodies to be brought. I went up to him and said: “Sir, what are you doing here? Don’t wait here. There is going to be trouble”. Then I called Mr. Premadasa’s security personnel who were waiting for his arrival and told them: “Tell the PM that there is going to be trouble; tell him not to come here and tell him I said so”. I told the same thing to the President’s bodyguard. I explained that amidst the inevitable disturbance even if a stone hits the President it will be humiliating and therefore he should stay away. I was able to issue orders since the General Cemetery came under the CMC and I was the Mayor.

Fortunately the President decided to heed my warning; this enabled Mr. Premadasa also to stay away (he would have been forced to attend, even though he was not happy about the whole thing, if the President attended). Once I got confirmation that neither the President nor the PM would be attending the cremations I informed the Municipal Commissioners who were present that I will go and change and come back. Of course I did not go back. And as Mr. Premadasa and I predicted, rioting started immediately afterwards. I later heard that the Army wanted the bodies to be brought to Kanatte and that the President succumbed to their pressure.

It was a terrible time and the worst part was that we were almost powerless. We could do nothing to stop the killing, the destruction. The President made a mistake in putting the Army in charge of restoring law and order. After the killing of the 13 soldiers the mood in the military was a very dangerous one and they were not really motivated in stopping the violence. If the Police had been given a free hand they would have done a better job. During this period President Jayawardene was reduced to a state of helplessness. Mr. Premadasa and I used to visit him every day. That was the only time I saw IRJ being speechless. The Army was not taking orders and I think we were very close to a state of mutiny. That was why the Air Force was called in eventually and they quelled the riot.

(Ilankai Tamil Sangam) by K.Mylvaganam

After 25 hours of agony, anxiety, uncertainty, tension and fear, I was a free man. All these were due to the silly and idiotic action of some uneducated, chauvinistic elements in the army. No sooner I returned to Kilinochchi, I took a cutting of a picture from a paper similar to the one in my camera and sent it to the OIC of the army camp in Puthur with a note saying, “This from The Sunday Times of 25.05.06; arrest its editor if you can.”

It was on the morning of the 11th instant at 10.00 a.m. I left for Jaffna to attend a wedding that was to take place at 10.a.m. on the 12th inst. On my way I had to visit some relatives in Valvetti [thurai].

At Kodikamam the driver turned towards Vadamarachchi and within two kilometers we were stopped by the army and directed to park in a side lane. There were a few vehicles already parked in that lane. The drivers of those vehicles did not know why they were directed into the lane. When I asked the soldier for the reason why we were diverted, he said that there was a bomb blast two kilometers from there and, until he got the OK signal, he was not supposed to allow any vehicle through.

I returned to the vehicle with the intention of canceling the Valvetti trip. I wanted to call Valvetty and inform them of the change of plan as I was expected for lunch by them. I borrowed the mobile phone from the driver and called Valvetty. I was told to go up to Meesalai and take the road to Puthur and from there to proceed towards Valvetty. This we did and it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.

As we approached Puthur we were stopped at a wayside checkpoint of the army. The time was 11.30 a.m. They just did a superficial check of the vehicle and we did not have any heavy luggage. I had only a backpack with a change for the night and a shirt and a dhoti for the wedding. As the checking was almost over and when we were about to leave, my ill luck fell on me.

One of the soldiers, on seeing my camera, wanted to go through the pictures on it. There were all sorts of pictures – family pictures, garden pictures and pictures taken at the Sencholai (home for the kids) on it and I happily gave it to him. After a few seconds, his face changed and took it to his senior who was seated inside the hut. He then called someone and there was a hive of activity going on and everyone was trying to have a look at it. Then one soldier came to me, put his rifle on my forehead and asked whether I took all the pictures on the camera and when I answered in the affirmative, he asked me why I took the photos of an LTTE training camp.

I told him that those pictures were not from an LTTE training camp, but of the training of civilians for self-defense. I added that these pictures appear in the daily papers and on TV quite often and I found that there was no harm in taking those pictures. Also I said that, not only the LTTE, but also the army is training civilians for self-defense. To this he replied sharply, “Don’t talk about the army, but you tell me about your LTTE.” I thought it would be unwise to reply to that and kept quiet. Then he said that he was going to take me to their camp nearby. Three of the soldiers got into our vehicle fully armed with T-56 rifles and ordered the driver to proceed as directed by them. At the camp ten spldiers came out to my vehicle and started asking all sorts of questions.

Question: Do you know the LTTE people?

Answer: I live in Kilinochchi and all those living in Vanni know the LTTE

Q: Do you know them?

A: Yes but not personally.

Q: What do you mean?

A: For example I know Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan as head of the Political Wing, but I do not know him personally. I have heard him speaking in meetings. So do I know about Pottu Amman, Soosai,, etc. but I have never seen them.

Q: So you attend the LTTE meetings?

A: No I do not attend LTTE meetings, but I do attend, for example, opening ceremonies, human rights conventions, etc. where such leaders speak.

Q: You have a Norwegian passport and what are you doing in Kilinochchi?

A: I am not the only foreigner in Kilinochchi. There are hundreds of them there.

Q: You tell me what you are doing there?

A: I am from Kilinochchi. When I come from London I stay there.

Q: What do you do in London?

A: I live there. (Now he is confused)

Q: You have a Norwegian passport, and you do not live in Norway, but you live in London and also in Kilinochchi. Why?

A: Why not?

Q: You do not ask questions. I ask questions and you answer. Right? (Very sternly put)

A: That was really not a question. What I meant was that there is nothing legally wrong by living in more than one place provided you have the visa from the respective countries. In Sri Lanka I have the residence visa for one year.

Q: Three months back you went to London. Why did you come back after three weeks?

A: My wife was sick, so I had to accompany her there.

Q: Why did you not stay behind and look after your wife?

A: I think this a personal matter yet, since you ask, I may say that she is capable of looking after herself.

Q: What do you do in Kilinochchi?

A: I am in the process of building a house there.

Q: Don’t you have a house in London?

A: Yes I do.

Q: Then why do you build a house in Kilinochchi?

A: Because I cannot live in the London house when I am in Kilinochchi.

Q: Don’t try to be smart with us.

A: Sorry (I didn’t dare to say your question was silly)

Q: When did you go to Norway?

A: In 1974.

Q: Why did you go there?

A: To work there. (another silly question)

Q: Who helped you to go there?

A: One Norwegian.

Q: Where did you meet him?

A: In a pub.

Q: Pub? What Pub? What do you do there?

A: We play Billiards and drink beer.

Q: Do you drink a lot a lot of beer?

A: I take a beer every day. Whether it is a lot, I do not know.

Q: Do you like beer very much?

A: No.

Q: Then why do you drink it?

A: Because I cannot get my favourite drink.

Q: What is your favourite drink?

A: Red wine.

Q: Why don’t you drink red wine then?

A: I can’t get it in Kilinochchi.

He thought he was asking the questions, but he did not know that I was dragging him along. Then, one by one, several of the soldiers started asking the same silly questions over and over again. I did not find it difficult to answer them as none of them appeared intelligent to me. At times there will be an fight going on among them. One would say, “I am asking, you wait”; the other would say the same thing back at him. I had to intervene and ask them to put the questions one by one. But they never listened. Once, one of them sharply told me, “Look at my face and answer my question.” I said my problem is I do not know who is asking which question as so many of you are asking so many questions at the same time. The questioning at the base started at about 12.15 p.m. and it went on till 3.30 p.m.

I forgot to mention that they confiscated my wallet, camera with the charger, passport, the LTTE’s Residence Permit, my driver’s mobile phone and his vehicle’s switch key.

I had my breakfast at 7.30 at home. They never offered even a cup of tea. I was supposed to go to Valvetty for lunch at 12.30. The time was nearly 4.00 p.m. I was terribly tired, hungry and thirsty. I kept asking whether I could make a call and inform them that I was getting delayed. This was denied. I even said that I would tell them that the vehicle had broken down. But the answer was “NO.” I never got to call.

Then another guy came with a file and a form and started filling it with my name, date, address, etc. He was writing something in Sinhalese while saying it loudly. Even though I speak some Sinhalese, yet I could not decipher what he was writing or saying. Finally he wanted me to sign. Now I became worried and a frankly a bit scared. I told them, “I cannot read Sinhalese, hence I cannot sign for something that I cannot understand. And what is it tell me.” He said it meant that I have received all my goods intact and that I was not scolded or beaten. I said that I would then write in Tamil all what you said and sign it. “Why can’t you believe us and Sinhalese is the official language?” I said, “According to the Sri Lankan constitution Tamil also has equal status. Hence, I have the right to write in Tamil.” He said none of them could understand Tamil. Now we have a problem, I said, but I was prepared for a compromise. And that was I would write in English and then sign it. To this, he agreed and it was done accordingly.

Now they told me that I would be taken to the police station and be handed over to them. There was a policeman there and he accompanied us with his gun. But he was quite polite. Two more soldiers also got in with their rifles.

Inside the vehicle I got my mobile and, with the policeman’s permission, I tried to ring Valvetty. But there was no balance left in the card. Certainly those fellows at the base must have used it up calling their families and friends.

Atchuveli Police Station

It was 4.30 p.m. when we reached the police station. The policeman who accompanied me said that we would be released to go soon. There was an Inspector of Police (IP), Mr.Sugathathasa, who was the officer in charge (OIC); his assistant was a sub-inspector (SI) called Vannasinghe. Both of them appeared very polite and courteous. Both of them addressed me either as ‘Aiyah’ or ‘sir.’ When they were about to begin questioning me, I asked whether I could call Valvetty to inform them of the situation and my whereabouts. The IP immediately summoned a constable to take me to their office and let me use their phone. When I returned, a cup of tea was awaiting me. That was the best cup of tea I have had recently, as I had neither eaten or drank anything since 7.30 a.m. Both of them went through the photos and appeared satisfied with my explanation.

Then the real interrogation started. Those two guys, unlike the morons at the army camp, were intelligent fellows. Their questions were focused to ascertain my dealings with the LTTE. I accepted that the LTTE cadres come to me now and then to get Tamil translations for materials that were in English. Most of their questions were sensible ones and concentrated to security risks.

Now the time has passed 6.30 p.m. The IP said that certain entries have to be made about my case in their books and ordered a sergeant to attend to it. The IP and the SI profusely thanked me for my cooperation and assured me that they have no suspicion on me and they are satisfied with my replies, which they said were frank and open. They even apologized for the inconvenience caused. I, too, thanked them back for their cordiality and hoped that I would be on my way very soon.

Before leaving me, the IP said that he would report the matter to his superiors and come back to me. Time passed and, at 7.30 p.m.. a Tamil constable, Mr.Suveekaran, came over with a register and said that he has to record my statement. He was extremely polite and apologized in advance to tell me, “Aiyah, they are going to keep you overnight. That is the order the IP has got. The IP tried his best to tell them that yours was a bona-fide case and there was no doubt or suspicion of any nature and that you are 74 years old. He has been asked to call a bit later.” The recording of the statement was done in Tamil by Suveekaran. The IP came to me at 8.30 p.m. and said in a very melancholy tone; “Sir, I am afraid you would have to stay overnight and be presented to a magistrate on the following day. Once you have seen the magistrate, you do not have to come back here and you can be on your way to attend the wedding.”

I got bread and dhal for dinner. I was given a thin mattress and had to sleep on the floor. However, a mosquito coil was lit and put between me and the driver. I should mention, however, that the IP offered me to sleep inside their office, where there was a fan working. But I turned it down as the office was brightly lit and there were phone calls every two or three minutes. I did not have a wink of sleep the whole night. My worry was what the Magistrate was going to say the following day. Will I be acquitted and sent home or will I be sent on bail, which meant I should be reporting at the next date fixed by the magistrate or will I be remanded, which would mean I would be jailed for a few weeks?

In the morning I called a friend of mine, on the advice of the IP, as a standby to bail me out if it became necessary. Luckily, the Magistrate, a lady who listened to my presentation (I did not retain a lawyer), told the police that there was no incriminating evidence against me and asked whether the police had any objection to her releasing me. The police did not make any objections, hence she discharged the case and I was released at 12.00 noon.

After 25 hours of agony, anxiety, uncertainty, tension and fear, I was a free man. All these were due to the silly and idiotic action of some uneducated Buddhist chauvinistic elements in the army. No sooner I returned to Kilinochchi, I took a cutting of a picture from a paper similar to the one in my camera and sent it to the OIC of the army camp in Puthur with a note saying, “This from The Sunday Times of 25.05.06; arrest its editor if you can.”

© 1996-2006 Ilankai Tamil Sangam, USA, Inc.

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

In a very strange move that will surprise anyone concerned with the global effort to eradicate disappearances and gross human rights violations, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which claims to be the country’s prime agency for the protection and promotion of human rights, officially decided to stop further inquiries into disappearance cases unless an order is received from the government to continue with the inquiries as the findings may result in the “payments of compensation etc”.

The mandate of the HRCSL among other things was to inquire into the infringement of fundamental rights and to make appropriate redress, including the granting of compensation to the victims. The very purpose of the creation of national institutions such as the HRCSL was to create independent bodies to investigate violations of rights and to ensure adequate redress. The board of the Commission has completely abdicated this responsibility and instead has expressly stated that it will cease inquiries into disappearances in order to avoid the payment of compensation to the victim’s families.

In 2006 the UN Human Rights Council adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Under this convention all states are bound to take all steps necessary to prevent forced and involuntary disappearances, to make disappearances a crime within each nation with appropriate punishment considering its heinous nature, pay compensation to the families of the victims and to ensure the state provides facilities for the rehabilitation of these families. The Sri Lankan government also supported the adoption of this document. Over several years from the early 90s the Sri Lankan government has also reiterated before the UN Human Rights Commission and the Working Group on Disappearances that it will investigate all allegations of disappearances and ensure appropriate legal remedies, including the prosecution of offenders and payment of compensation to the families of the disappeared.

Sri Lanka has one of the worst records regarding disappearances in the South which began around 1987. The number of disappearances in the South alone amount to an official figure of over 30,000 but unofficially the numbers are estimated to be around 50-60,000. The disappearances have also constantly taken place since around 1977 until the present day in the North and the East of the country. With the escalation of violence between the armed forces and the LTTE in the recent months there have been further complaints of disappearances from these areas. The decision of the board of the HRCSL under these circumstances will be an encouragement to those who engage in such acts.

Due to strong international and local pressure, particularly from the families of the disappeared the Sri Lankan government had undertaken some measures to inquire into these disappearances. The recent decision of some government agencies is as follows:

(a) Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, the then Secretary-General of the Peace Secretariat copied to Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy a letter dated 22nd October, 2004 which he had sent to Secretary/Foreign Affairs to consider a suggestion to set up a Permanent Commission on Missing Persons in Sri Lanka.

(b) On 16th November 2004 the Secretary to the President invited the then Chairperson of the HRC and the Head of the ICRC for a discussion to consider this suggestion. At this discussion the ICRC stated that it had a list of 12,000 complaints of disappearances of persons and wanted Dr. Dhanapala’s suggestion be considered in all earnest.

(c) The HRCSL took up the position that there is no need for a separate commission as the powers and functions of the HRC are adequate to deal with such complaints. The attention of the Secretary to the President was drawn to the recommendation to a list of 16,305 complaints of disappearances left unattended by the All Island Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances due to limitations in its mandate and suggested that these too could be referred to the HRC for necessary action.

(d) This position was accepted and following a Board Paper submitted to the HRC on 15th December 2004 the Board approved the establishment of a unit to process these 16,305 complaints. The ICRC had agreed to process their list of 12,000 complaints, exclude those in respect of security personnel missing in action and hand the rest to the HRC.

(e) This decision was conveyed to the Secretary to the President by HRC’s letter of 16th December, 2004 and his concurrence was sought and obtained to retrieve the list of 16,305 complaints from the National Archives to which the Presidential Commission had deposited this list.

(f) The Asia Foundation provided the additional funds that were required by the already existing Disappearances Data Base Project to process these 16,305 complaints which eventually boiled down to about 2000 complaints.

(g) The Asia Foundation had agreed to provide funds to inquire into these complaints too as information from these cases too have to be fed into the current data base for scientific analysis of the trends and patterns of disappearances.

These 2000 cases were the subject matter of a concept paper submitted to the board of the HRCSL and the response from the Board made on June 29, 2006 is as follows:

“Board does not propose to go ahead” inquiring into these complaints “for the time being unless special directions are received from the government as the findings will result in payment of compensation, etc.”

This decision amounts to the undoing of several decisions of the government agencies as stated above.

The decision of the HRCSL not to proceed with the inquiries received publicity through the Sri Lankan media which also sought the reactions of human rights defenders on this issue (kindly see AHRC-FR-002-2006).

The present decision of the HRCSL is in conflict with its mandate and also fundamentally contradicts its role as a prime human rights protecting institution in the country. It cannot be defended on any legal or moral basis. In fact it is contrary to Sri Lanka’s obligations as a signatory to the ICCPR. The present HRC members, the legitimacy of whose appointments is under question due to them being appointed in contravention of constitutional provisions, has completely turned its character from a human rights protecting agency to an agency that protects the state instead the victims of human rights abuses. The HRCSL must be compelled to publicly abandon its decision not to continue with inquiries into disappearances. It must further be compelled to restart the inquiries and ensure redress to the victim families including the payment of compensation.

(BBC) The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has sought assistance from the United Nations, voluntary bodies and countries in the world to help evacuate Sri Lankans living in Lebanon, says H.M.Kithsiri Herath, second secretary of Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanons.

“The evacuation of Sri Lankans living in Lebanon is an extremely difficult and critical task, but we are doing our best”, Herath said.

Evacuation process has been disrupted in many ways; sea and air ports are not operating; and the road leading to Syria from Lebanon is damaged due to bombing, he said.

“The Lebanese government is at present ineffective but we are trying our best to protect them”, Herath said.

It is also a difficult task to practically look into about 80,000 Sri Lankans living across Lebanon, but the Embassy would act immediately in emergency situations, he said.

Second secretary, Kithsiri Herath said most of them are housemaids and working on contract signed with their masters. As a result masters do not like to release them.

“Adding fuel to flame is illegal immigrants who do not have visas. They work without any binding. The Lebanese authorities fefuse to allow them to move “, Hearth said.

Illegal Immigrants

There are those who have been sacked by their employers and also those who have fled for fear, he said.

At present when there are bomb attacks, they take refuge in places of protection and go back, Herath said.

The Embassy is constantly in touch with the authorities of Sri Lankan and Lebanese governments and are taking steps to evacuate the Sri Lankans caught up in this crisis, Second Secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon, Kithsiri Herath said.

IOM Team

Jemini Pandya, spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told journalists that the IOM had rushed a team to Lebanon to assess the situation and list the number of people needed to be evacuated.

(TamilNet) Parents of Mariyaseelan Jeevakumar, 17, who was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers at his home on Friday morning are searching for the details of the whereabouts of their son, civil society sources said. Although the youth is said to have been handed over to Jaffna Police by the SLA, parents have not been informed of his arrest, even after more than two days, relatives of the youth said.

Emergency laws mandate the Police to bring the arrested youth before a magistrate within 48 hours of the arrest, or to obtain explicit authorization from the Defense Ministry to keep him in detention. In either case, the parents or relatives have to be informed of the whereabouts of the detainees, human rights officials in Jaffna said.

In a similiar arrest of a youth from Kopay last week, Jaffna Police had sent an arrested youth to Colombo to be interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Division, but admitted doing so only after the intervention of the Jaffna Human Rights Commision officials, according to civil society sources.

Meanwhile, Sivalingam Varatharajah, 17, a GCE student at Jaffna Central College, has been reported missing after attend private tuition class Sunday morning, his mother registered a complaint with the Human Rights Commission office Monday, sources said.

(WSWS) The detention and interrogation last week of a Sri Lankan military intelligence officer and a soldier over the murder of a free lance journalist, Sampath Lakmal de Silva, raises further questions about the intrigues of the armed forces in provoking a return to war on the island.

The 23-year-old De Silva was killed on July 1. According to the police, his assailants shot him four times—once in the ear and three times to the head using a 9mm pistol—and took his notebook and mobile phone. His body was found the following morning in Jayawardana Avenue, a residential area of the Colombo suburb of Dehiwala, about four kilometres from his home.

After questions were raised by several media organisations about the suspicious character of the murder, the Dehiwela police detained a military intelligence officer who was later released after questioning. Normal police procedure in Sri Lanka is to hold suspects until they can be produced in court. The officers have not been named.

De Silva had certainly angered military intelligence as well as the two Sinhala extremist parties—the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). As defence correspondent for the newspaper Sathdina, he wrote several articles last year under the pen name of Admirala, criticising intelligence personnel for corruption and connections with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He also wrote about the financial irregularities and internal disputes of the JVP and JHU.

Sathdina deputy editor, Srilal Priyantha, told the World Socialist Web Site that de Silva had contacts inside military intelligence as well as with various Sinhala and Tamil politicians and LTTE activists. “He was abducted and tortured by the army personnel last October after he wrote an article about the financial corruption of the military intelligence unit,” he said.

Priyantha said that de Silva had been warned by his abductors not to write such articles again. Fearing reprisals, he had not made a complaint to the police and had not published anything further on the issue under his known pen names. Previously he had worked for the Sinhala daily Lakbima and TNL, a private television service, and he recently joined the media unit of the resettlement and rehabilitation ministry.

De Silva’s mother told the WSWS that her son received a telephone call at about 9 p.m. on July 1. He told her that he had spoken to “Kumara Sir” and that he had a big job to do that night. He left home a few minutes later and did not return. According to de Silva’s mother, Kumara was an officer in the military intelligence unit. Although de Silva wanted to bring a friend, he was advised to come alone.

Further suspicions of military involvement in the murder were raised in parliament on July 8. Speaking in the debate on the extension of the state of national emergency, M.K. Sivajilingam, an MP with the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA), declared that de Silva had been killed because he knew the names of those responsible for killing five young people in Avissawella.

Two other MPs—V. Radhakrishnan from the Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) and Ranga Bandara from United National Party (UNP)—made the same allegation, but gave no details. Bandara demanded to know why the government had not ordered the arrest of the army personnel involved.

The five youth, thought to be Tamils, disappeared in the Colombo area during search operations by the security forces following a suicide bomb attack on army headquarters on April 25. Army commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka was seriously injured in the attack, which killed 11 people, mainly military personnel. The headless bodies of the five youth were later found in Avissawella. After the initial accounts, there have been no reports of any police investigation.

The government has yet to respond to the parliamentary questions, but it is attempting to pin the blame for de Silva’s murder on the LTTE. On July 3, the state-owned Daily News quoted a Media Centre for National Security spokesperson as saying: “He has written strongly against the LTTE and condemned their atrocities.” The article claimed that de Silva had provided the military with vital information. Since that report, however, the government and state-run media have gone silent on the murder.

The Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) issued a statement on July 4, saying: “The assassination of Lakmal at this juncture, when the country is on the verge of war, is an indication that journalists have been targeted by various groups who are attempting to achieve their objectives by making journalists their targets.”

Several media organisations, including the SLWJA, the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance held protests in Colombo on July 6 and in Kandy on July 7 to demand that the killers be found and charged.

The FMM later expressed concern over the release of the two military personnel just an hour after their detention. It has sought, but not been granted, a meeting with Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s brother. According to the Sunday Leader, the police have found the names of the two suspects by investigating de Silva’s mobile phone call records.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) president Christopher Warren condemned the murder, saying: “This is a ruthless and senseless attack which is particularly worrisome given de Silva’s record of unbiased reporting, and this signifies a further disintegration of basic freedom and safety standards and protections for media workers in Sri Lanka.”

The murder of de Silva is not an isolated incident. Over the past 16 months, six journalists and other media workers have been killed. In each case, there have been strong grounds for suspecting the involvement of the military and allied paramilitary groups.

One of the most prominent murders was that of Dharmaratnam Sivaram. He was abducted on the night of April 28 last year in Colombo city. A few hours later his body was found inside a high security zone about 500 metres from the parliament buildings. There is every reason to believe that Sivaram, who was an editorial board member of the pro-LTTE Tamilnet website, was murdered by the security forces or Sinhala extremist gangs. He had been denounced as a “Tamil Tiger” and the JHU justified his death as “a warning to all those who oppose the country in the future.”

This May gunmen stormed into the officers of Uthayan, a daily newspaper in Jaffna, and killed two employees. The government immediately blamed the LTTE over the attack, but the newspaper owners and employees insisted that the attack had been carried out by a paramilitary group with the help of the military. In particular, the publication had been critical of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP), a partner in the country’s ruling coalition, and also the military for their repressive methods against Tamils.

No one has been detained in either case.

Nor will there be any serious investigation into the latest killing of de Silva. The Lakbima newspaper reported on July 10 that police have finally decided to examine the firearms of the military intelligence officers who were with de Silva moments before his death. It will be done in the next few days, the report declared. It would not be at all surprising if, having been alerted, the weapons are found to be missing. The newspaper noted that “because of the pressure of various parties”, investigation teams have been inactive. According to the police, there is no evidence to show the LTTE was involved.

The fact that military intelligence is implicated in de Silva’s murder is no surprise. Throughout the country’s protracted civil war, intelligence units have been involved in provocations, murders and other dirty operations, either directly or through allied Tamil paramilitary units. They are able to operate with impunity, as there has never been a serious police or government investigation into their activities.

Overall Situation

The first meeting of the Advisory Committee of the All Party Conference met 11 July in Colombo. The Advisory Committee was established under the recommendation of the President and is comprised of a broad political spectrum, the idea of which is to consult political parties in arriving towards a political consensus to enable a resolution to Sri Lanka’s conflict. Members of the international community also attended.

All staff at the UN country office in Colombo had an half day security training and a fire drill, which is part of a country wide effort to improve security.

Main challenges and response

In Ampara district the issue of road repairs/ works in the whole of Ampara District has not been attended to sufficiently. Many of the coastal roads in Ampara District have been ruined and there are no signs of repairs. This is particularly dangerous as heavy trucks and lorries, as well as farmers tractors pass through these roads daily to carry construction materials etc.

Food security

ICRC collected information on food assistance provided by different organizations for the displaced people. This is to assist WFP as they have limited number of food monitors in Trincomalee district.

The district government in Ampara reported that the delay in providing dry ration food assistance to the recently arrived conflict IDPs from Trincomalee was due to the insufficient information from the Divisional Secretaries. It was announced that the government has now received approval from the Ministry of Disaster Relief to provide five weeks worth of dry ration per IDP.

Health

IOM has conducted a health promotion programme in Onthachimadam, Thiruchenthur and Vattavan in Batticaloa district. More than 600 people participated in the workshop which focussed on general hygiene and diseases prevalent in the dry season.

Recently the Italian Cooperation and the Italian NGO CISP inaugurated the Thirukkovil Hospital in Thirukkovil – Ampara which was damaged by the tsunami.

Water and sanitation

In Ampara, water trucking and bowsering continues to be a problem in the district with many beneficiaries wanting the service to continue, especially in light of the forthcoming dry season. Many divisions have requested for bowsering services to continue for another three months. However many organizations feel that bowsering is becoming a prolonged dependency and that the people should return to obtaining water from existing wells. However, as explained by the GA, there is still a need for bowsering because many of the wells have not yet been cleaned and are contaminated. The Water Board is working on a water-well cleaning programme as well as a water cleaning and purification initiatives with UNICEF.

Non-food items and shelter

People in Need (PIN), an NGO handed over 40 houses to tsunami-affected people in Kinniya DS division Trincomalee recently.

In Batticaloa district IOM has assessed the number of shelters that require

Care and Maintenance at assigned sites and work is in progress at Kayankerny, Kurukalmadam, Thiruchenthur, Onthachimadam and Puthukudiyirupu.

– Nearly all Divisions are underpledged for the Home-Owner Driven programme except Sainthamarathu and Alaydevambu divisions. – The GA has requested that some organsiations shift from the donor driven programme to topping up in the Home-Owner Driven programme, or to shift to work in divisions where there is an underpledge of houses in either programme. – The total number of housing requirements for repairs and reconstruction in the Home-Owner Driven programme is: 12, 607 units

The District Secretary has provided housing/ donor organsiations with guidelines for handover of house and land process on what the entitlements are for the beneficiaries in terms of ownership and deed of land/ house.

Education

The Education Development Organization (EDO is an NGO working in Trincomalee District) with UNICEF funding is stitching the uniforms of displaced children in Eachchilampattai and Muttur LTTE controlled area.

There are still two schools in Ampara District which are in need of a donor to rebuild and to rebuild and be relocated while there are still 47 schools in Akkaraipattu Division, and 40 schools in Kalmunai Division in need of minor repairs on new paints, fences, toilet repairs and others. Also, many of the IDPs have used the electricity and water services, and the schools do not have the funds to pay for the high bills now.

Protection

UNICEF are providing two ‘disadvantaged’ schools in Ampara district with permanent sports unit facilities (such as children’s jungle gym bars, playground sets, and sports equipments) in schools that are difficult to reach/ access.

Full Transcript of US Ambassador Lunstead’s Farewell Press Conference held in Colombo:

LUNSTEAD: Good afternoon everyone. It’s nice to see you all. I thought I’d give you one last shot at me before I left. I’m leaving Sri Lanka tonight after three years. It’s been three very tumultuous years with many changes which none of us could have anticipated. Despite the many changes, some things have remained the same over these three years. One thing that’s remained the same is U.S. interests in Sri Lanka and U.S. goals for Sri Lanka. U.S. goals for Sri Lanka – we summarize them very simply at the Embassy – as peace and prosperity. Peace, so that all people of Sri Lanka can live free of fear and so they can get the prosperity which they deserve and which this country is capable of. Prosperity, because it will show the benefits of peace and reinforce the movement towards peace. Another thing that hasn’t changed is the U.S. commitment to helping Sri Lanka on its way forward. It’s important to emphasize that we do not have, nor do we want to prescribe, a solution for Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem – it has to be a Sri Lankan solution. But we are here to assist Sri Lankans in trying to find that solution. Another thing that remains the same is the commitment of our international partners who work with us. Of course, I can’t speak for them. But I would say that we all work together and our ability and willingness to work together has remained the same throughout the past three years. As I’ve said, we don’t want to prescribe a solution for Sri Lanka; Sri Lankans have to decide how they want to live. But, as you know, we have made plain that we believe some elements are essential for a solution. I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat it. And I said it last Fourth of July, some of you heard it then. First is that there is no military solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem. Second is that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam must renounce terrorist violence and enter the political path. And that if they do so that the U.S. and the rest of the international community will respond positively. Third is that the government of Sri Lanka must work to address legitimate Tamil grievances, and ensure that the conduct of its security forces is impeccable, even in the face of severe provocation. And finally that, whatever solution there will be that Sri Lankans will come up with, will no doubt require radical changes in the way the nation is governed. Changes which will empower all the people of Sri Lanka – Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others – and give them a greater say in how they are governed in the areas where they live. In my Fourth of July speech a few days ago I confessed to some disappointment after three years that there had not been greater progress towards peace and prosperity. Just to clarify, disappointment is not the same as pessimistic. I continue to believe that there is a solution for Sri Lanka’s problems and that Sri Lankans are capable of finding it. And, having said that, I’d be happy to take any questions.

QUESTION: Peter Apps, Reuters. Is there any evidence that the two sides are taking the steps that they need to bring about a solution?

LUNSTEAD: Well, obviously this is a long-term thing and as I’ve said there have been a lot of ups and downs over the past three years and, indeed, before that. I was unable, because it’s my last day, to go to the opening of the President’s All Party Conference today but I think that the effort by the government to lay out some of its ideas about what a solution might look like is a useful one. As we say in colloquial American, “You can’t beat something with nothing.” And the government has to give some ideas as to what it sees as a future framework for governing Sri Lanka. Of course, we would like to see that the Tamil Tigers stop the violence that has been carried out on and off since December. I think things have been a little bit more quiet the past few days, but that’s too early, I would say, to show a trend or not. It’s hard to see right now where things are going, but the possibilities are there.

QUESTION: Shameer Rasooldeen, MTV. The U.S., along with other donor countries, said that if the government and the LTTE do not return to the negotiation table there will be a cut down in aid. So can you elaborate on this, Mr. Lunstead?

LUNSTEAD: I don’t think those were the exact words that we used. But there are two aspects to this. First, we and other donors would like to provide development assistance to the entire country. To the extent that there is conflict going on in some areas, it becomes physically impossible to provide assistance. So right there you have a cut-back. In addition, countries have to decide for themselves where they apportion their aid on a worldwide basis, and there are many more contenders for aid than there is money available. And when donors see countries that are moving forward in a positive way, then they are more likely to provide enhanced levels of assistance. But there’s no simple plan by the donors: we don’t have a list drawn up and we’ll decide how much, people work individually on that sort of thing.

QUESTION: Brian Tissera from The Island newspaper. With your involvement in the past three years, do you foresee a situation where you would come back in a different capacity to help this move along?

LUNSTEAD: Right now I don’t know what my plans are and so I don’t have any idea. I think the Norwegians have the job and I’ll probably leave it to them to do that job.

QUESTION: Shimali Sennanayake for the New York Times. Ambassador, during your tenure in the last three years the U.S. has been most vociferous about its support towards a negotiated settlement in Sri Lanka. And also has been very tough with the LTTE and its acts of terror. There have also been instances when the U.S. has alluded to some kind of military support to the Sri Lankan government. Do you think this approach that has been followed in recent years yielded the desired results, or does require change?

LUNSTEAD: Well, as I said, I think anyone who was here three years ago looking at today has to be disappointed that there wasn’t greater progress. It’s hard to say what particular elements led to that. A lot of things have to do with domestic Sri Lankan politics, and there’s also the attitude of the Tigers. With regards to U.S. military assistance, I think we’ve been pretty clear on this. We have a limited military assistance program to the government of Sri Lanka. It consists of training, joint exercises and a small amount of military sales. It is not, in and of itself, enough to make a huge difference in the military balance. It is not intended to indicate in any way that we or the government of Sri Lanka intend to return to war. It’s just to say that the Tigers should not return to war because a war will be more costly, not less costly. It’s designed to entice the sides back to the path of peace, not to move forward toward war. So our commitment to the government is firm, but it is not a commitment to a massive military assistance program.

QUESTION: I’m Arun from Virakesari. The behaviors of the security forces in the Northeast, these days, have been bad. The day before yesterday they very badly assaulted Jaffna Additional Magistrate Mrs. Srinidhi Nandasekaran. And one of the soldiers said “I can shoot you if I have suspicions. This is my superior’s order.” This is directly from her. This is not a story; I talked to her early this morning on the phone. So this type of activities by security forces is leading to high tension because if the government cannot protect a judge, how can ordinary people expect that the 80,000 forces in the Northeast, the STF and other forces…the Northeast people, the Tamils, they can’t even understand Sinhala language. So how can they expect protection from the government? What is your comment on this?

LUNSTEAD: Well, it’s a very important subject and I’m not familiar with the specific incident you mentioned. But as I said, we believe the government of Sri Lanka must work to address legitimate Tamil grievances, which is a long term problem, and in the short term it must ensure that it respects the rights of its Tamil citizens, in fact of all its citizens and that the conduct of the security forces must be correct and impeccable. The security forces, of course, are under severe strain because of the attacks on them, but that’s not an excuse. So the government must work hard on this. I’ve discussed that with many officials in the government, the President, the Defense Secretary, the Foreign Ministry and others and they’ve agreed on the point, they say they are trying to make sure the forces behave correctly, the President has told me that personally, But then you really need to address that question to him, not to me, because we’re not in control.

QUESTION: But I’m just asking, because the international community…

LUNSTEAD: I think that the international community is pretty much of one mind about this, that the government needs to ensure that its human rights record and the behavior of the security forces is proper. We will continue to make that point clear.

QUESTION: Any thoughts on the recent government tax on films and Hollywood blockbusters that are coming. As one of our largest trading partners, have you taken this up with the government?

LUNSTEAD: Well, we’ve discussed that. We don’t go into the details of our discussions, but we’ve discussed these proposals for taxes on films and television episodes with the government and, in general, I would say, as you know, we’re proponents of free trade and the free flow of information and we think that’s what makes countries more prosperous and that ideas should be able to move freely. We will continue to discuss that with the government, it’s an important subject for us both for commercial and other considerations. But it’s much bigger than just films and television.

QUESTION: Ambassador Lunstead, your efforts to bring the UNP and the SLFP together during the time of President Chandrika Kumaratunge, the Wickremesinghe co-habitation government, and now the Rajapakse administration have failed. Your efforts have failed. Your comments please.

LUNSTEAD: Well, I think you’re characterizing something which didn’t exist. I have never attempted to negotiate between the UNP and the SLFP, if that’s what you mean by “efforts”. In general, do we encourage politicians in Sri Lanka to work together? Of course. That’s something that we would like to see. But that’s really, again, a subject for Sri Lankans. You’re the ones that vote for these leaders, not us. Do you have a follow-on?

QUESTION: What I meant was not you, personally. But whenever a visiting dignitary from the United States comes to Sri Lanka – the Assistant Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of State – all their insistence was on co-habitation, on the South coming up a common plan on the ethnic conflict. In that regard, even recently, Mr. Boucher had spoken with Mr. Wickremesinghe along the same lines when he was in Washington recently. What I meant by “your efforts” is “your government’s efforts” to see the South…

LUNSTEAD: Again, I think it’s important not to mischaracterize these efforts. We encourage people to work together for the good of the country. I’m hardly shocked that politicians act like politicians and have other interests also. But clearly, to put it in broader terms, for there to be a settlement of the ethnic problem there will have to be broad agreement within the South as to what that settlement should look like, and that has to happen over time.

QUESTION: Dinali Philips from ABC News. With reports talking about so many displaced persons going from LTTE-controlled areas to government-controlled areas, is there any other assistance or programs that the U.S. government will initiate in the near future?

LUNSTEAD: We are not doing specific programs for the displaced right now, although we have some programs that will help them. There are other agencies